The Mythology and Folklore Database
C6J - Obtaining land in connection with the creation of man.
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Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of Motif
In the same narrative, the story of the creation of man and the attempt to prevent it follows immediately after the story of obtaining earth from the bottom of the sea or from the underworld.Berezkin category: Disasters
This is of motif type Cosmology and etiology and is part group 3, Cosmogony, the earth and the sky, etiology of the elements, natural and biological phenomena (fire, water, soil, thunderstorms, dream, etc.), cataclysms and cosmic threats, spirits of nature
C6 has 17 other sub-motifsC6. In texts with an emphasis on authenticity, characters dive or otherwise descend into the underworld to bring back to earth something desirable that is located at the bottom (deep below) (aka "The Earth Diver" motifs) (cf. fairy tale motif k27x9). C6a. A turtle or toad (frog) brings a desired object from the bottom or from the underworld. C6b. The desired object is brought up from the bottom by a muskrat (rarely a beaver or otter). C6c. The bird dives and brings up the desired object from the bottom. See motif C6. C6c1. Two or more different birds (in Siberia, often a loon and a duck) successively try to retrieve something from the bottom. Only one succeeds. C6c2. Birds must dive to retrieve soil from the bottom, from which land will emerge. The loon cannot reach the bottom, refuses to dive, or tries to hide the soil it has retrieved (usually punished for this). C6c3. The loon dives and brings back a piece of earth (grass, etc.), which turns into land (it is the only or the only successful diver). C6c4. A duck or similar waterfowl dives and brings back a piece of earth, which turns into land (it is the only or the only successful diver). C6d. Land (earth) is formed from a small amount of solid substance (silt, sand, clay, mud) that characters retrieve from the underworld (usually from the bottom of the ocean). C6e. A crustacean retrieves earth from under water or from the underworld. C6f. The characters attempt to retrieve a living creature or part of its body that has sunk to the bottom of the water. See motif C6. C6g. The boar brings earth from the bottom and/or scatters it on the water. C6h. The insect brings soil (from the bottom of the sea or from somewhere far away). c6h1. The earth brought from the underworld was found in the belly of a worm or insect, from where it was taken. C6i. A zoomorphic character returns from the underworld covered in mud. He shakes himself off, or the mud is scraped off him, and earth emerges from it. C6i1. There is water everywhere. Earth is raked up from the bottom into a mound, its top rises above the water and turns into dry land. C6j. In the same narrative, the story of the creation of man and the attempt to prevent it follows immediately after the story of obtaining earth from the bottom of the sea or from the underworld. C6j1. An anthropomorphic deity sends someone to fetch earth from the bottom of his enemy. At first, the enemy or both characters sometimes have the appearance of birds. After the enemy brings the earth, a confrontation begins between the two characters, who now always have anthropomorphic appearances. Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of C6's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| M39A | 99.09% | fool lives with his brother (and mother), is sent on business, does ridiculous things (all or part of the above): releases animals from the trap, kills (trapped) mother ; cuts off the pet's legs or skins; takes the fontanel on the baby's skull for a boil and squeezes it out; tears a large piece of cloth and ties the pieces to swaying reeds; hearing the murmur of water, throws food into the water; puts the plague in the water; wants to salt the water and pours all the salt into the river. (There are other common episodes as well). |
| M100 | 97.43% | Zoomorphic characters lie down to sleep on the edge of a cliff. At night, one of them suggests moving (turning), and his companion (companions) falls and breaks. |
| K89B | 97.30% | At the beginning of the story, the sister parts with her brothers (or one brother), who die, remain on trees, on a hill, ascend to the sky, etc. Usually, after a successful marriage, the sister meets her brothers again, who have acquired superhuman nature. |
| B68A | 97.01% | Birds quarrel, and the one who claimed high status cripples the weak one. For this, the others order her to carry the crippled one on her back. |
| B48A | 96.34% | The bodies of animals, birds or fish contain internal organs or muscles that were originally parts of the bodies of other animals, birds, fish or monsters. Cf. motif B36C. |
| I50 | 95.80% | Describes or depicts a hoofed animal with six or more legs. |
| I56 | 95.63% | Moving between worlds, the same living person is visible to some and invisible to others. |
| B38E | 95.53% | The character kicks a loon or other waterfowl. Since then, it has had a flattened tail and finds it difficult to walk on land. |
| B70 | 95.10% | A man beats defenseless hares, foxes, and other small animals (one or many) that are usually locked in his house. The story explains the colouring of the tips of the ears and tails of these animals. Cf. motif M45A. |
| B45B | 94.77% | The bull or cow is the embodiment of cold, the reason why winter is cold. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 22 traditions: Santali, Turi, Mahli, Northern Munda of Kharwar branch: Birhor, Ho, Mundari, Kol, Asur (including Agaria, Kol, Birjhia), Bhumij, Garo (Atchik), Kachari (Bodo, incl. Lalung), Dimasa, Tripuri, Riang (of Tripura), Khami, Riga, Mori, Oraon (Kurukh), Western Ukrainians, Anatolia Turks, Chuvash, Mansi, Buryats: Western (cis Baikal), Mongols (Khalkha), Khakas, Shor, Nenets, Southern Selkups, Northern Selkups, Tungus (Evenki): Baikal region, Evenks, Tungus (Evenki) of China (Solon, Birar, Oroqen, Manegir), Evenks, Tungus (Evenki): Russian Far East, Evenks, Southern Altai: Teleut, Eastern Ukrainians, Northern Ukrainians, Buryats: Eastern (trans Baikal), i.e. Khori